Needle cylinder



Get. 23, R923.

A. E. STEWART NEEDLE Y INDEE Filed April 24, 1919 2 Sheets-Sheet l @cfi. 23, 1923.

A. E. STEWART NEEDLE CYLINDER Filed April 24, 1919 2 Sheets-$heet 2 Beit known that I, ALBERT E.

a citizen of the United States, residing at Patented Oct, 23, 1923.

.,.-umfrr.| STATES ALBERT n srnwan'r, or FRANKLIN, new HAMPSHIRE, AssIeNoa T0 ACME xmrrme mcnmn & NEEDLE COMPANY, or FRANKLIN,

- .or NEW HAMPSHIRE.

NEW HAMPSHIRE, COBQOBATION N EDL crmnnnn.

Application filed April 24, 1919. Serial No. 292,288.

To all whom may come-wt.-

STEWART,

and which generally will be anjmprovement on prior constructions.

The manner in which it is proposed to Franklin, in the county of Merrimack and accomplish these objects will be readily un- State of New Hampshire, have invented certain Improvements in Needle Cylinders,

er which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is

a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to needle cylinders of the character used in circular knitting machines. A needle cylinder of the construction most commonly used in machines 'of this type consists of a body of substanthe .cylinder walls are relatively soft andthe needles running on this soft material wear it away rapidly, and that in case the walls of the slots became battered accidentally it is very diflicult to repair them satisfactorily.

With a view to overcoming these difliculties another type of needle cylinder was introduced and has been widely used in which a series of partitions or walls, separate from the cylinder, are clamped to the peripheral surface of the cylinder and are properly spaced apart toprovide needle races between them. This type of cylinder, known asa built up cylinder, while superior toits redecessor, also is unsatisfactory in that it ails to give the proper lateral support to the heel of'the needle since the races are wider at their outer edges than at their inner edges. Furthermore, certain of these types are difficult to repair, especially those in which the partitions are soldered to the cylinder.

The present invention is particularly concerned with the built up type of needle cylinder and it aims to devise a construction which will give firm lateral support to the needle, which can be economically manufactured and quickly and conveniently repaired, which will not be subject to as rapid Wear as the constructions heretofore used rupted near its lower side b flange 6 and another perip eral flange 7 1 derstood' from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features Wlll be pointed out more particularly inthe appended claims.

sembling the parts;

Fig. 4 is a view of the spacing bars used in the cylinder;

Fig. 5 is a view of the partitions used in the cylinder;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of one of the of the clamping ring;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view, partly cut i way, of the needle cylinder shown in The construction shown in the drawings comprises a cylinder body 2 having its outer surface turned down to form a wide peripheral groove 3 extending from a shoulder 4 near the base of the cylinder to an inclined undercut shoulder 5 near the upper end of the cylinder. This groove is intera peripheral sections pro ects from the surface of the cylinder above the shoulder 5. The bottom of the groove 3 forms the reater part of the peripheral surface of t e cylinder body 2, as will be obvious from an inspection of the drawings.

The flangefi is milled to provide a series of slots, equally spaced from each other, these slots extending down to the bottom of the groove 3. At the same time that this millin or slotting operation is performed the milling or slotting tool is run into the edge of the shoulder 5 far enough to notch it, as indicated at 8. Into each of the slots so formed in the flange 6a spacing bar 10 is placed, this bar being-of a width equal to the depth of the groove 3 and of a thickness equal to the thickness of the needles to be used. The u per ends of these spacing bars are inserted in the notches 8. The spacing bars thus are held b the notches and slots in planes passing su stantially through the axis of the cylinder. Between each pair of adjacent spacing bars a wall or partition 12 is inserted. Each partition is of approximately the outline indicated in Fig. 5 and is wedge-shaped in transverse cross section. It is also with an inclined s oulder 13 and at its lower end with an oppositely inclined shoulder 14. The shoulder 13 rests against the inclined shoulder 5 on the body 2 and the lower shoulder 14 rests against the inclined face of a clamping ring, consisting of several sections 15, these sections being secured to the body 2 by screws 16.

In assembling the cylinder the spacing bars are first placed in the slots cut for them and then the partitions 12 are placed between the spacing bars. The sections 15 of the clamping ring are next placed in position. When the screws 16 are turned in, the inclined faces of the ring sections, acting against the inclined shoulders 14 of the partitions, eo-operate with the shoulders 5 and 13 to force the partitions 12 inwardl toward the peripheral surface of the cylinder body. Due to the wedge shape of the partitions and the fact that a clearance is left between the inner edges of these members and the base of the oove 3, the spacing bars and: partitions will all be wedged'together laterally, thus binding all these parts securely in place. The entire cylinder may then be placed in a grinder and the built up section ground down to a true cylindrical form.

It will be observed'that the spacing bars and partitions form the races in which the needles 17 run, the partitions forming the lateral walls of the races, and the spacing bars the bottoms of the races. Since these parts preferably are made of material much harder than that of which the body 2 is formed, they will wear much longer than the prior forms of needle cylinder. It is obvious that the cylinder body is subjected to very little wear and will last almost indefinitely. The flange 7 is slotted as shown in Fig. 1 to provide needle races registering with the races formed between the partitions 12. This cylinder can be very economically manufactured and if certain of the partitions should become injured or mutilated they can be quickly removed by releasing the ring section 15 which holds them in place and others can be substituted for them. Since the clamping ring is made in sections it is rovided at its upper end needles are accurately guided at all times.-

Furthermore, this wedge-shape also is of advantage, as above stated, inclamping the.

parts to the cylinder body.

Inasmuch as the notches 8 in the shoulder 5 are made chiefl for the purpose of facilitating assembling, it is unnecessary to cut a notch for each spacing bar. It will be evident that various changes may be made in the details of constructionof the cylinder without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention. I

What is claimed as new, is:

1. A needle cylinder for a circular knitting machine comprising a cylinder body, a series of parts each forming the bottom of a needle race, another series of parts forming the sides of the needle races, each of the latter parts having needle guiding surfaces on opposite sides thereof, and means for removably securing said parts to said body.

2. A needle cylinder foracireular knitting machine comprising a body, a series of parts forming the bottoms and sides of the needle races, and means for removably securing said parts to said body, said means being operative to force said parts inwardly toward the periphery of said body and thereby bind them firmly together laterally.

3. A needle cylinder for a circular knitting machine comprising a body, a series of partitions spaced apart around the periphery of said body and forming needle races between them, said partitions being thicker at their outer edges than at their inner edges and diminishlng uniformly in thickness from their outer to their inner edges, and means engaging the ends of said partitions for forcing them inwardly and locking them securel to the body. a

4. A needle cylin er for a circular knitting machine comprising a body, a series of spacing bars spaced around the periphery of said body and each extending longitudinally of said body, a series of partitions also spaced about the periphery of said body, said partitions alternating with said spacing bars, the partitions being higher than the spacing bars whereby needle races are formed between adjacent partitions, and means for elampin said spacing bars and partitions to said body.

5. A needle cylinder for a circular knitting machine comprising a body, a series of spacing bars spaced around the periphery of said body and each extending longitudinally of said body, a series of partitions also spaced about the periphery of said body, said partitions alternating with said spacing bars and being Wedge shaped in transverse cross section whereby needle races of uniform width throughout their depth are formed between the adjacent partitions, and means acting on the ends of said partitions to force them inwardly toward said body and thereby wedge said palrtitions and spacing bars together later-- a1 d: A needle cylinder for af circular knitting machine comprising a cylinder body, a series of partitions encircling said body, means for holding the adjacent partitions spaced apart to provide needle races between them, said partitions being wedgeshaped in transverse cross section to provide needle races of uniform width throughout their depth, and the ends of said partitions being oppositely bevelled, and means engaging said oppositel bevelled ends to force the partitions inwar ly and thereby clamp them on said needle cylinder.

7. A needle cylinder for a circular knitting machine comprising a cylinder body, a series of spacing bars spaced around the periphery of said body and each extending longitudinally of said body, said body hav-' ing slots formed in portions thereof to receive and position said bars, a series of partitions spaced about the periphery of said body and alternating with said spacing bars, said partitions being of greater width than said spacing bars and being wedge shaped in transverse cross section whereby needle races of uniform width throughout their depth are formed between the adf'acent partitions, and means for removab y securing said partitions and spacing bars to said cylinder body.

8. A needle cylinder for a circular knitting machine cpmprising a cylinder body, a

series of spacing bars arranged around the periphery of said body and each extending longitudinally of said body, a series of partitions spaced about said body, said partitions alternating with said spacing bars and each partition being of greater thickness at its outer edge than at its inner edge, said partitions also being oppositely bevelled at their ends, said needle cylinder having a bevelled undercut flange against which one end of each partition rests, a clamping ring comprising a plurality of sections each bevelled to engage the opposite ends of said partitions, and means for clamping said sections to said cylinder whereby the parts engagingsaid bevelled ends will crowd said part1- -tions toward the periphery of said cylinder body and wedge the partitions laterally against the spacing bars.

9. A needle cylinder for a circular knitting machine comprising a cylinder body, a series of spacing bars spaced around the periphery of said body and each extending longitudinally of said body, said body having a peripheral rib thereon slotted to receive said spacing bars, a series ofpartitions spaced about the periphery of said body and alternating with said spacing bars, said partitions being of greater width than said spacing bars and being wed e shaped in transverse cross section whereby needle races of uniform width throughout their depth are formed between the adjacent partitions, and means acting on the ends of said partitions to force them inwardly toward said body and thereby wedge said plartitions and spacing bars together lateral n testimony whereof I name to this specification.

ALBERT EVSTEWARTU have signed my 

